Columbia files $395,000 lawsuit over ‘skunk spray’ controversy at campus protest, report says

Columbia University has reached a $395,000 settlement with a Jewish student who was one of two students who allegedly used a “fart spray” prank during a campus protest in January. report It was announced Thursday by the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee.

eventThe attack, which students initially reported as a “chemical attack” involving “skunk spray,” was later found to involve a new non-toxic substance, the report said.

The Jan. 19 incident occurred during a rally organized by the Columbia University Apartheid Divest coalition, a coalition of about 100 student groups protesting U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza. Some students reported experiencing nausea and eye irritation after exposure to the spray, leading Columbia University and the NYPD to investigate the incident as a possible hate crime.

The incident at the city’s only Ivy League university heralded a tumultuous period marked by student protests around the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Earlier this month, hundreds of students walked out of classes as part of a larger wave of protests at universities in the city to mark the anniversary of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Columbia University President Minouche Shafik announced resignation This summer describes “a period of turmoil in which differing views in our community have been difficult to overcome.”

Although some students described the spray as a “chemical attack,” school administrators later confirmed that the spray was actually a “new fart spray” purchased from Amazon, according to the report. The report alleges that Columbia “allowed a false narrative used to smear Jewish students to continue for months despite knowing it was untrue.”

Both Jewish students involved were initially suspended, but one filed a lawsuit in April, resulting in a reduction in probation discipline and a $395,000 settlement payment, the report said.

The Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition of Palestinian students called the settlement “nothing short of horrific and sickening.”

“Palestinian students have been repeatedly profiled, arrested, and suspended for nonviolent actions, including removing Islamophobic posters,” Maryam Alwan, a spokesperson for the organization, told Gothamist.

Alwan said the House committee found “numerous disturbing revelations” in its report.

Accordingly ReutersThe “skunk” was developed by an Israeli company and was first deployed in the West Bank by the Israeli army in 2008. The odor intensifies with washing, causing persistent nausea and eye irritation. 2015 BBC report He noted that U.S. law enforcement has since embraced the spray, describing its smell as “worse than raw sewage” and comparing it to “a mixture of feces, poisonous gas, and a rotting animal.”

The House committee suggested that Columbia’s handling of the incident reflected a broader trend among universities to “appease unruly camp invaders with shocking concessions rather than enforce their rules.” The report also documented similar incidents at other institutions such as Northwestern, UCLA and Harvard.

Columbia University officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.